West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1887-12-22
GOING TO EXTREMES,
REV. TALMAGE's SUNDAY SERMON
People Who Make Great Ado About
Small Matters.

IN chunks, library in sentence, the eec-
uci1y oil many clouds discharged in one bolt,
river put through mill race. When Christ
quotes the proverb OF the text He means TO
set forth the ludicrous behaviOr OF those who
make great buster about small sins aud
have no appreciation OF great ones
In my text "A small insect and a large Quad.
runed are brought into comparison-a gnat
and camel You have i'm museum or on the
desert seen the latter, n great awkward,
high, ami stomach having n collection OF
reservoirs for desert travel an animal for
Dldden TO tho Jews as food, and i'm MANI
dIteraturcs entitled 'tho ship of the desert"
The gnat spoken OF i'm the text is i'm the crub
FORM AZ Is born in pool or pond, after a few
weeks becomes chrysalis, and then after a
Few days becomes the gnat ns we recognize
~. III Il in its smallest shape, and yet inhabits
the water-fOr my text is a misprint md
ought TO read, strain out a gnat."
MY text shows you the Prince of inconsis-
tencles. A man after long Observable on has
formed the suspicion That in "A cup Of water
he Is about TO drink there is n grub or the
grand parent of a gnat. He gees and GETS n
sieve or strainer. He takes the water aud
pours II through the sieve in the broad light
lie says: II would rather do anything almost
than drink this water until this lnrvS Inc CIV
tirpate1.h This water is brought under in
QUESTION. The experiment is successful The
water PUSHES through the sieve and leave.
against the side of the sieve the grub or gnat
Then the man carefully removes the insect
and drinks the water in placdity. But going
out one day, and hungry he devours a fshiD
OF the desert, the camel, which the Jews
were forbidden TO eat. The gastronomer has
no computations of conscience He su NJ 20
from no indigestion. He puts the lower inv
under tho camel's fore foot, and his uDper.
jaw over the hump of the camers back and
gives one swallow and the dromedary disap-
pears forever. He strained out a Snat. Ee
swallowed n camel.
While Christ's audience were vet smiling nj
tne appoSitenesS and wit OF his illustration
ior smile they did in church unless they were
too stupid to understand the bynarboIa
Christ practically said to them: t;Tbat ia
you" Punctilious about small things: reck-
less about affairs of great magnitnde No
subject ever withered under a surgeons knife
more bitterly than did the Phnr5sees nnder
Christs scalpel of truth. As an anatomist
VIII take human body to pieces and mt
them under microscope for examination so
Thirst finds His way to the heart of the dead
Pharisee and cuts it out and puts IL under tba
glass of inspection for all generations to e,~
nmine. Those PhariSees thought that Christ
would Hitter them and compliment them
ana now they must have writhed under the
redhot words as he said: Eye fools. We yybitad
sepulchres, We blind guides, which strain ont
gnat and swallow q camel"
Inere are in our day a great many pnats
strained out and great many cameis swat
lowed, and il is the object of this sermon 20
sketch few persons who are extensively an.
gagged in that business
FIRST remark that all those ministers NJ
lhe Gospel are photographed in the text who
are very scrupulous about the conventio,oii
ties OF religion, but put no particular stress
upon matters or vast Importance Church
ser vices ought 10 be grave and solemn There
IS no room Tor friyolity in religious convoc,l-
ton. hut there are illustrations and tbera
are hyperboles like that OF Christ in tho 80
That Will irradiate with smiles any intelli
gent auditory. There are men like those Hind
guides OF the text who advocate only those
things in religious service which draw H.
corners OF tho mouth down. and denonnce an
those things which have tendency TO draw
the corners OF the mouth up and these 1nan
VIII go To installations and TO presbyteries
and TO conferences and TO associations tboir
pockets full OF fine sleeves to str3in ont ~
gnats, while in their own churches ut horno
every Sunday there are fifty peoDle eound
asleep. Ihey make their churches a great
dormitoTy, and their somniferous sermons
are cradle, and the drawlel ont hymns n
lullaby, while some wakeful soul in n new
with her fan keeps the flies Off unconscious
persons approximate. Now, say it is worse
70 sleep IN church than 20 smile in cburcb
for the latter implies at least ottentio,,'
while the former implies the Indifference of
tho hearers and the stupidity of the sneqEer
IN mold OLD age or from physical inGrmty, or
i ii' long watching. with the sick, drow-
sihess VIII sometimes oyCrpower one.
put when minister of the Gospel
iooks OH upon an audience and finds
healthy and intelligent people struvqliny with
drowslness, it Is time for him To give ont ~.
great fauit OF church services 70 day is not
TOO much vivacity, but too much sor,
no.ence. The ono is an irritating cngt
In am may De easily strained out; the other is
great sprawling and sleepy eyed camel of
the dry desert. In all our Sabbnth-schools
In all our Bible classes in all our Duluits We
need to brighten up our religious MESSAGE
the text. ''Nu III
take down from my library the bioyra
pines OF ministers and writer's of INST ae-c-s
inspired and uninspired, who have done tbs
f aH 70 brlng souls TO Jesus Christ, and /
md that without a single execution tbev CON.
secrated their wit ana their humor TO Christ
Elijah used It when he ndvisal the Baalites
as they could not make their God respond
telling them % call lou Ter, rs their God
might be sound asleep or gone hunting
JoD used u when be sad 20 his self-cOnceited
comforters: wis !om will die with YOU
Christ not only usei il the text. but (, n m
de ironically complimentd the putreiei
Ihaflsees, saying: ''The whole need not
physician and when by one word He de-
scTibed the cunning Of HerOd. saving. "Go
We, and tell that fox Matthew Hegrv's
commentaries from the first PAGE 20 the
last coruscated with hummer as summer
clouds with heat and lightning John Bun.
yam writings are as fail OF humor as thcv
are OF saving truth, and there is not an need
man here who has ever read " Purr.m's Pro-
gfes5 who does not remember that while
Teadlng IT he smiled as often ne he went
aohn wesley, George Whitehed Jeremy
Taylor Rowland Hin, George g. FinDey and
nil men OF the past who greatly advanced
tl9 Kingdom IL God cOnsecratsd their wit
ana their humOr 90 the cause Of Christ So
10 has been in all the ages and say 10 fhasa
young theological Students who cluster i'm
these service Sabbath by Sabbath, sharuen
your wits as keen as cimeters, and then take
them into this holy war
u is very short bridge between n smile
ana a tear, a suspension bridge from eve TO
Up ma % % soon crossed Ove~. and "a smile Is
sometimes just as sacred as n tear. There is
n much religion. and j think "a little more
ln n spring morning than in q starioss mii.
night Religious work without any hum9r
or Wit in 10 is "a banquet with 20 side of baaf
ana That raw, and no condiments. and no
dessert succeeding. People will not sft down
~ such n banquet By all means remove IN
IrlYohty and aIl b1th0s and nli ligifnora ami
~ YulEauty strain them ont through the
sieve ~ holy discrimination. Lut on tIa
Other hand. beware of that monster which
oFeTshadows the Christian church today
CpnFentipnaiity, coming up from lho Great
nfnara desert pf C.olc-il.tiei9fn. having on
itf back hump Of s1nctim1ai0us Gloon. ond
Fehem sutly refuse to swallow that camel
On, hov particular "a great many p.oaIa
nr9 about she Infinite mails while tbav ara
quite re kless aJ11t th mqZnituIas tgb4t
did Christ sayf Dill hs no. ex-oriafs to
people in His time who were 80 ,.4ref.I b,
WASH their hands before "a fr.af Iuf ala r,of